Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
[0001] CAR DOOR UPHOLSTERY PROTECTIVE SHIELD AND METHOD OF USE OF THE
SAME
FIELD
[0002] There is described a protective shield that is intended to prevent a
pet, typically a
dog, from damaging upholstery on a car door.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A dog is territorial by nature. When a dog, that has been left
alone in a car, sees
another animal outside of the car; the dog will react. Unfortunately, this
frequently results in
damage being caused to upholstery on the car door. United States Patents
6,926,341
(Addesso et al) and 6,000,365 (Charnesky) disclose forms of car door
upholstery protective
shields that are suspended from the window well to prevent such damage from
occurring to
the upholstery on the car door.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to one aspect there is provide a car door upholstery
protective shield
which includes a one piece resilient body. The body includes a spine having a
first end, a
second end, a first side edge and a second side edge. A protective sheet
depends downwardly
from the first side edge. A first door engagement tab on the second side edge
projects
outwardly past the first end. A second door engagement tab on the second side
edge projects
outwardly past the second end. A cutaway gripping area in the spine creates a
flex region in
the spine, such that manual upward pressure in the gripping area causes the
spine to bow
upwardly in the flex region to bring the first end and the second end closer
together and upon
release of the manual pressure the spine resiliently returns to original shape
and length.
[0005] According to another aspect there is provided a method of
protecting car door
upholstery. The method involves providing a protective shield as described
above. The
method then involves a step of exerting manual upward pressure in the gripping
area to cause
the spine to bow upwardly in the flex region to bring the first end and the
second end closer
together and inserting the spine into the window frame with the protective
sheet covering the
car door upholstery. The method finally involves a step of releasing the
manual upward
pressure on the spine and allowing the spine to resiliently return to original
shape and length
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)
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with the first door engagement tab at the first end of the spine engaging a
first inside side edge
of the window frame and the second door engagement tab at the second end of
the spine
engaging a second inside side edge of the window frame. The first door
engagement tab and
the second door engagement tab serve to lock the spine from removal from the
window frame
of the door,
[0006] The Applicant was not satisfied with the performance of car door
upholstery
protective shields that were suspended from the window well. It was the
Applicant's
experience that the dogs repeated impact against the protective shields tended
to dislodge
.. them. What was required was a manner of locking the protective shields in
place, so that the
dogs could not and did not dislodge them. This was accomplished by creating a
flex region
on the spine and end tabs. The flex regions allows the spine to be manipulated
to resiliently
bow upwardly during insertion. The end tabs lock the body against removal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other features will become more apparent from the
following
description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings
are for the
purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting,
wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is an end elevation view of a car door upholstery
protective shield.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the car door upholstery protective
shield of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the car door upholstery
protective shield of FIG.
1.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the car door upholstery protective
shield of FIG. 1
being flexed during installation on a car door.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a first engagement tab of the car
door upholstery
protective shield of FIG. 1 being engaged during installation on the car door.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the car door upholstery protective
shield of FIG. 1
locked in position on the car door.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] A car
door upholstery protective shield, generally identified by reference numeral
10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 6.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
[0015]
Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 3, car door upholstery protective shield 10
is
made from a one piece resilient body 12. Referring to FIG. 2, body 12 includes
a spine 14
having a first end 16, a second end 18, a first side edge 20 and a second side
edge 22.
Referring to FIG. 3, a protective sheet 24 depends downwardly from first side
edge 20. The
length of protective sheet 24 may vary. At a minimum one wants to cover area
just below the
window frame, where it is anticipated a dog will position itself A first door
engagement tab
26 on second side edge 22 projects outwardly past first end 16. A second door
engagement
tab 28 on second side edge 22 projects outwardly past second end 18. Referring
to FIG. 2, a
cutaway gripping area 30 is provided in spine 14 along second side edge 22.
Referring to
FIG. 4, cutaway gripping area 30 creates a flex region in spine 14, generally
indicated by
reference numeral 32. Manual upward pressure in gripping area 30 causes spine
14 to bow
upwardly in flex region 32 to bring first end 16 and second end 18 closer
together. Referring
to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, upon release of the manual upward pressure, spine 14
resiliently returns
to original shape and length.
[0016]
Referring to FIG. 3, it is preferred that the body 12 be transparent, so that
car door
upholstery protective shield 10 is unobtrusive and does not detract from the
aesthetics of the
upholstery. If protective sheet 24 does not end above the door handle, it is
preferred that a
door handle cut out 34 be provided in protective sheet 24. Referring to FIG. 4
through 6, door
handle cut out 34 allows the car door handle can be accessed for the purpose
of opening the
car door.
Operation:
[0017] Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a car door 100 have a
window frame 102.
Window frame 102 has a first inside side edge 104 and a second inside side
edge 106. Car
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door 100 has a first outside side edge 108 and a second outside side edge 110.
Flexing of
spine 14 upwardly in flex region 32 facilitates insertion of spine 14 into
window frame 102.
Without this "shortening" by bowing upwardly in flex region 32, spine 14 of
body 12 with
first door engagement tab 26 and second door engagement tab 28 would be too
long to fit
within window frame 102. Referring to FIG. 5, during installation, first door
engagement tab
26 at first end 16 of spine 14 engages first inside side edge 104 of window
frame 102.
Similarly, second door engagement tab 28 second end I S of spine 14 engages
second inside
side edge 106 of window frame 102. Body 12 cannot be removed unless the
procedure is
reversed and spine 14 is "shortened" by bowing. However, first door engagement
tab 26 and
second door engagement tab 28 serve to lock spine 14 in position. Referring to
FIG. 6, when
in position, as described above, car door upholstery protective shield 10 is
less likely to be
dislodged or "bounced" out of position when a dog strikes it.
[0018] In
this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting sense
to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
[0019] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrated
embodiments set
forth as examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent
with a purposive
construction of the claims in view of the description as a whole.
